Subaru Automobiles

[brutus54]

I'm driving my 3rd Forester. 1st one was a '14 Premium with 168,000 mi. 2nd was an '18 Premium with 144,000 mi. My 3rd is a '23 Forester Wilderness and have almost 18,000 mi since Feb 28th. They have all been reliable, dependable and economical driving cars. Average mpg on my Wilderness has been 32mpg.

 

[ericm979]

Mu uninformed opinion is that since a turbo runs much hotter, the quality of oil has to be higher, so more expensive, and timely scheduled maintenance becomes more important.

I'm pretty casual about oil change intervals because I'm long past the recommended time before I reach the recommended miles interval. (And I'm cheap). Stepping up to premium oil at exact intervals due to a turbocharger would increase my operating cost.

I've never had an oil burner in a car I bought new, so this don't-care approach seems to work for me.

Comments?

I've owned a number of turbo cars, many of them tuned. I change the oil every 5k miles and use good synthetic as recommended by the manufacturer. The oil for my VW is a little more expensive than to the 0w-20 synthetic I run in the Toyota trucks but the trucks take nearly twice the amount of oil so in the end they're no cheaper. I also change their oil every 5k because 10k is way too long, but if it gets to 6k it's fine.

At least for me the cost difference is small. A couple full throttle blasts is worth more in fun than I paid for oil (or trans fluid or spark plugs).

Modern turbo cars use water cooled turbos with after-run pumps so the old problem of oil cooking in a hot turbo is no longer an issue. That was the original reason for really high oil quality, but in general its a good idea. I got 130k miles out of my last turbo car which had a tune on it for nearly all of that, and it was still running well when I sold it.

 

[MossRoad]

Mu uninformed opinion is that since a turbo runs much hotter, the quality of oil has to be higher, so more expensive, and timely scheduled maintenance becomes more important.

I'm pretty casual about oil change intervals because I'm long past the recommended time before I reach the recommended miles interval. (And I'm cheap). Stepping up to premium oil at exact intervals due to a turbocharger would increase my operating cost.

I've never had an oil burner in a car I bought new, so this don't-care approach seems to work for me.

Comments?

My comments are the used 2020 Subaru Outback we got has a lifetime power train warranty as long as we prove we did regular scheduled maintenance and bring it into the dealer at least once per year so they can look at it. Since the dealer had really reasonable oil change prices, it's a non issue for us.

I (and the dealer) expect the electronics to die well before the power train.

In every vehicle I've ever owned, I've always run the recommended oil and changed at the recommended intervals.

 

[MossRoad]

$3k, selling as a parts car; I'm sure one of you wants it.

OH YAH!!!!

 

[MossRoad]

My wife's 2020 Outback has heated seats front AND back. Passengers like that.

The rear seats recline a bit. They like that, too.

It's got full rubber mats on the backs of the rear seats, so when you fold them down, it's a nice no slip cargo area.

Split rear seats makes it easy to fit in 3 people and anything you might find at the antique/flea markets, too.

 

[California]

... '23 Forester Wilderness and have almost 18,000 mi since Feb 28th. They have all been reliable, dependable and economical driving cars. Average mpg on my Wilderness has been 32mpg.

What are the advantages of the Forester Wilderness option? How much extra ground clearance? What else?

 

[jyoutz]

My wife's 2020 Outback has heated seats front AND back. Passengers like that.

The rear seats recline a bit. They like that, too.

It's got full rubber mats on the backs of the rear seats, so when you fold them down, it's a nice no slip cargo area.

Split rear seats makes it easy to fit in 3 people and anything you might find at the antique/flea markets, too.

View attachment 826206

A nice find. Most of those are bent.

 

[Oaktree]

$3k, selling as a parts car; I'm sure one of you wants it.

Quite a sign of the times when a parts car is going for $3k!

 

[tacticalturnip]

Quite a sign of the times when a parts car is going for $3k!

If it wasn't for rust it wouldn't be a parts car; it's sad because she runs great.

It's $3k for the car because they haven't made a new one in almost 20 years, and good luck getting Baja specific parts lol.

 

[brutus54]

What are the advantages of the Forester Wilderness option? How much extra ground clearance? What else?

The Forester Wilderness has a 3000lb towing capacity vs 1500 on the other models. Also has a transmission cooler, stronger roof racks (for a rooftop tent), 2 different hill decent or deep snow modes, higher approach, decent angles. Skid plates underneath some critical areas. Waterproof seat material and body cladding (different look but helps hauling brush out back to dump).